


Make Believe

by KrysImeteriHikari



Series: Anon Requests 2015 [4]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Alternate Universe - Dragons, Fantasy, Gen, Roleplay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-08
Updated: 2015-08-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:47:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22260541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrysImeteriHikari/pseuds/KrysImeteriHikari
Summary: "I stand by my oath, Ruri Kurosaki, Princess of the Land of Xyz, just as much as the day I swore it.”Anon Request for a Ruri and Yuto Knight AU.
Relationships: Kurosaki Ruri & Yuto
Series: Anon Requests 2015 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602400





	Make Believe

“Onwards, men! Don’t let them escape!”

The girl closed her eyes, feeling her hair flying behind her as she took to the skies. She dodged and weaved as the soldiers chased after her, throwing spears and arrows at her, trying to take her down.

There was one thing they didn’t account for, however.

“Princess,” a voice said softly, causing her to look down at her companion, the dragon that had been carrying her.

“We need to get to higher ground, Yuuto!” She said frantically, barely dodging a stray arrow, “It’s too dangerous here. We’re sitting ducks!”

The dragon flapped his wings hard, taking them higher and higher until they were out of the arrows’ range, bring the princess to sigh in relief.

“Are you still okay, Yuuto? You’re using up a lot of energy…”

“I’m fine, milady,” he responded, trying to fight the strain in his voice, “I’ll get us somewhere safe, don’t worry.”

The princess was still worried for her friend and knight. He could only hold his dragon form for so long and he had already used up a lot of energy fighting off the soldiers. She was glad once they made it to the mountains, her friend breathing hard and losing altitude.

“There’s a cave over there.” the girl pointed, “we can rest there for now.”

Yuuto grunted from the effort but was too strained to argue with her. He gave his wings one more push and lifted them up to the landing, rolling hard on the ground as he turned back into a human, and unfortunately throwing off his princess passenger, making her roll as well. Aside from a few scratches from the landing, she was fine. Her friend, however, looked worse for wear. He was still breathing hard, lying on the ground trying to catch his breath. She immediately went to his side, checking him over for serious wounds.

When she couldn’t see any obvious ones, she put one of his arms around her shoulders while she reached around his side to help support him as they entered the cave, thankfully quiet and unoccupied. She did notice that he was limping while he walked, so she eased him down against a large rock to work on dressing his bad leg. Some spear must have grazed him, and they had only noticed it now once he turned human.

“Forgive me, my lady,” he wheezed, watching her tear her long skirt to dress his wound, “if only I hadn’t-”

“No, Yuuto, you did the right thing. It was a long time coming. You did nothing wrong.”

“He still shouldn’t haven’t have struck you, for standing up for what you believe in….” He stared sadly at the smart red mark on the girl’s face, soon to bruise if left untreated. He felt like a failure, for letting someone hurt his princess, even if that person was her own father. He never cared if he got hurt, so long as his princess remained untouched by harm. If he had known sooner, had moved faster, he could have-!

He took a sharp breath inward, finally aware of the pain in his leg. The girl couldn’t help giving him an apologetic smile.

“It’s behind us now,” the princess said defeated, “the only thing we can do is flee to the neighboring kingdom, to plead for mercy and protection.”

“Her Highness Queen Yuzu adores you, my lady,” he responded, “she will welcome you with open arms, I’m sure.”

“Not once word reaches her,” she sighed. “I’ll be lucky if they even let us beyond the gate.”

“My lady…”

“You don’t have to call me that anymore, Yuuto. I’m certainly not a princess anymore, my father made sure of that.” She clenched her hands in her lap, a small gesture that certainly didn’t escape Yuuto’s sharp eyes.

“Maybe he’s right,” she murmured while closing her eyes, feeling something warm and wet there, “maybe I really am useless. I’m just a silly young girl, after all. I’ve never helped anyone.”

A rough hand shakily touched her face gently, wiping the tears that were starting to fall. She opened her eyes to see Yuuto smiling tiredly at her. His calloused hand soon fell and found it’s way into her much softer ones, squeezing them gently.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to disagree with you on that front, my lady.”

“Yuuto, I already told you-”

“Let me finish, my lady.”

“But…”

“Don’t believe what your father says,” he said, looking into her eyes. “You have a kind heart. I wish I could emulate your kindness, but I am only a humble knight in your service.”

“Yuuto…”

“You made it possible for me become a knight, my lady. You gave me a home, a roof over my head, food to eat, talked to me when others would sneer in disgust, laugh with me instead of at me. You taught me to read and write when it’s not normal for common-born, let alone half-breeds like me, to learn such wondrous things. It was under your support that I was able to undertake the knight’s training, to become a squire, and finally, being personally picked by you to be your personal knight.

"I stand by my oath, Ruri Kurosaki, Princess of the Land of Xyz, just as much as the day I swore it,” he continued, his eyes becoming serious.

“A knight is sworn to valor. His heart knows only virtue. His blade defends the helpless…”

“His might upholds the weak.” Ruri joined him, having heard the knight’s oath many a time. Yuuto saying the oath to her felt more special than the first time he said it to her when he was swearing in to be her knight for the first time.

“His word speaks only truth. His wrath undoes the wicked…”

He squeezed her hands again, still keeping his serious look.

“Until my dying breath, I promise to dry your tears when you cry, I promise to stand by your side when no one else will. I am your sword and your shield, Lady Ruri. I promise to right the wrongs that have been done to you. If you lose strength or courage, I will gladly lend you mine. If you lose your way, I will gladly guide you and help you find it again. If you need a confidant, someone you can talk to and trust, I will always lend you my ear and my time. Should you feel that you no longer need me, though it saddens me to think a day like that would come, I will leave when you tell me to. But, should you need me again, I will always be ready to take up arms again, to be what you need me to be.”

Ruri couldn’t speak for a moment, so touched by what he said. Though she was sure the majority of that wasn’t part of the knight’s oath, she felt like it should be.

“Yuuto…”

—-

“Yuuto! Yo, Yuuto! Your mom’s here to pick you up!” A small voice called up to the treehouse.

He didn’t receive a response, making the small boy raise an eyebrow. What were they doing up there?

Putting his short legs to good use, Shun climbed up the ladder to the shared tree house, seeing his little sister and her friend asleep on the house floor. Yuuto was asleep sitting up, holding a wooden sword in one hand and a towel around his neck. Ruri was curled up on the floor with her own towel around her neck, except instead of a sword, she had a tiara and flowers in her hair. Mom was going to be mad at them for digging up her flowers, again, and for putting them, dirt and all, in Ruri’s hair.

Once he spotted the storybook on the floor, Shun could guess what they had been doing all afternoon. Playing pretend again, as they tended to do. Of course, he was much too old for those kinds of games, being a big kid now, but they always get so into it. Silly little kids.

Shun shook his head and headed back down the ladder, letting the two nap in the treehouse for now.


End file.
